Monday, 1 February 2010

How to get into tea-Step 1

This is going to sound really obvious is you’re already into tea, but I’ve told a few people about what I’m doing here and their immediate response is, “I drink a bit of fruit tea when I have a cold. Real tea? I just don’t know how to get into it.”

So here’s a really simple way to make a cup of black tea more palatable for someone not accustomed to it: a bit of milk and sugar. Or honey. Or whatever Cancer-causing non-sugar sweetener you prefer.

When I say that, I don’t want to give you the impression that drinking tea with stuff added is somehow a less valuable or genuine experience than drinking it black. If you already like tea with milk and sugar, keep doing what you’re doing. I will say that I started that way and slowly weaned myself from adding things. You can better taste the real tea if you drink it alone. But first things first. Start out enjoying it as sweet and milky as your heart desires.

And full disclosure, so I don’t mislead you: I still put a bit of milk in my tea in the morning on occasion. If I order tea in a restaurant or cafe and it’s bitter, I’ll definitely add a little cream. It’s still tea, after all.

British is the best way ;-) Seriously though, I will always be partial to Earl Grey with milk and honey because that's what I drank as a child, and it connects me to my grandmother. But I'm excited to try different kinds. So far my second fave is Assam. Oh, and Rooibus.